Long-term persistence with orlistat and sibutramine in a population-based cohort.

Author(s): Padwal R, Kezouh A, Levine M, Etminan M

Affiliation(s): 1University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Publication date & source: 2007-04-10, Int J Obes (Lond)., [Epub ahead of print]

Publication type:

Objective:Orlistat and sibutramine are widely prescribed antiobesity agents that are approved for 2 years of continuous use. Previous 1-4-year randomized, placebo-controlled trials of these drugs have reported average weight losses of <5 kg, significant adverse effects and attrition rates of up to 60%. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term persistence with orlistat and sibutramine therapy outside a clinical trial setting.Design, setting and patients:Population-based administrative data from British Columbia, Canada, were used to create an inception cohort of orlistat and sibutramine users and determine the 2-year persistence with therapy.Main outcome measure:Persistence with therapy at 2 years. Drug discontinuation was defined as the failure to refill a prescription within 120 days. Patients discontinuing therapy were censored at the 60-day mark.Results:Nearly 17 000 users of orlistat and 3500 users of sibutramine were identified. For both orlistat and sibutramine, 1-year persistence rates were <10% and 2-year persistence rates were 2%.Conclusion:This population-based, retrospective cohort analysis demonstrated very poor long-term persistence rates with orlistat and sibutramine and discontinuation rates that were much higher than those reported in clinical trials.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 10 April 2007; doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803631.